We are thrilled to announce that the acclaimed poet Li-Young Lee will be serving as finalist judge for this year’s poetry prize. We invite you to enter your work! Please read the following submission guidelines carefully and let us know if you have any questions.
Guidelines:
- The submission deadline for the prize is May 1st, 2012.
- The entry fee is $15 (includes a free copy of the Fall 2012 Issue).
- All submissions must be previously unpublished work.
- You may submit up to two poems per entry, no longer than 40 lines each.
- $1000 will be awarded to the winner, and publication in the Fall 2012 Issue will be awarded to the first place poem and second place poem.
- All entries will be read by a blind panel of readers who will select fifteen poems as finalists.
- The final judge will review the 15 finalist poems and select the first place and second place poems. Close friends and students (current & former) of this year’s judge–Li-Young Lee–are not eligible to compete, nor are friends or family of the Ruminate staff. Past first place winners of the prize and past judges of the prize are also not eligible to compete.
- All submissions must be submitted via our online submission form below. We will not accept mail or email submissions.
- Winner will be announced in the Fall Issue, September 2012.
- We do accept simultaneous submissions.
- Please remove your name, bio, and any contact info from the file that you submit.
Please Note: Ruminate adheres to the following Contest Code of Ethics, as adopted by the Council of Literary Presses and Magazines, of which Ruminate is a proud member: “CLMP’s community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to 1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors; 2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines — defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.”
Ruminate Magazine sponsors four annual writing contests: our art contest, poetry contest, short story contest, and nonfiction contest. We are one of the only Christian-minded literary magazines to sponsor short story contests, poetry contests, and nonfiction contests, and art contests. And while our contests–just like our magazine–are not defined as Christian poetry contests or Christian fiction contests or Christian essay contests, we do strive to provide a forum for the conversation between art and faith to exist and continue. Past winners from the Ruminate Magazine writing contests have been recognized by Poets & Writers Magazine and have received notable mention awards in The Best American Short Stories anthology and Best American Essays anthology. Past finalist judges of our contests include Bret Lott, David James Duncan, Luci Shaw, Vito Aiuto, Greg Wolfe, Al Haley, Stephanie G’Schwind, and Leif Enger. It is our hope our writing contests provide a significant venue for our talented contributors to receive the support and recognition they deserve.